Chapter 81: Death Countdown

At 4 p. m., the meeting ended.

It had been 8 hours since Lin An's group arrived.

Zhang Tie held Principal Huang, walking at the front with a grim expression.

After nearly eight hours of discussion, even though they had repeatedly conceded each clause of the wartime management regulations and promised not to harm the Awakened Ones' existing interests.

yet they still failed to reach a unanimous consensus.

As the Vice Principal said, we need to study holding a meeting, but we will definitely give an answer.

Knowing it was merely a delaying tactic, Zhang Tie several times wanted to simply use force to intimidate them, but Jing Tian stopped him each time.

If we kill again, there will truly be no hope of convincing the academy.

Team channel.

Wen Ya forced a smile and began to comfort the somewhat low-spirited An Jing Tian.

"Anyway, we've already anticipated the worst outcome, haven't we?"

"Or rather, it's not even the worst. We just want to give them a chance."

An Jing Tian nodded heavily.

"Damn it, I now think Lin Dui is right! Those damn things would be better off all killed as Lin Dui said!"

"A bunch of high-and-mighty but incompetent fools, always spouting official nonsense."

Lin An remained silent; the present situation is something that Zhang Tie and the three of them must go through.

Don't say they lack evidence; they can only rely on strength to speak, proving they don't need to deceive the academy.

Even if they did, what then?

Throughout history, when disaster looms, even under the threat of national destruction, many still choose self-deception, engaging in power struggles for profit.

During the Jingkang humiliation, even with foreign invaders, officials still indulged in music and dance.

During the Five Barbarians' chaos, was not the peril of Han extermination also each fighting for themselves?

At the end of the Qing dynasty, when the nation faced extinction, those in power preferred to spend military funds on building palaces for pleasure.

Such examples are far too many; the ugliness of human nature has never changed.

Only blood, only killing can awaken the world!

Speaking of which, let's get back to the point.

Lin An's idea is certainly not just to establish a safe zone so simply.

To resist the great disaster, we must concentrate all resources and manpower of the war zone, giving it our all.

Whether now or later when annexing other safe zones, we will face the same problem.

It's impossible for him to personally handle every safe zone's forces; Zhang Tie, Wen Ya, and An Jing Tian must each be able to stand on their own.

Otherwise, what's the point of him building a faction and painstakingly training members?

If you don't kill, others will think you dare not act and will bully you.

In the apocalypse, kindness and mercy are only seen as weaknesses to be exploited; to protect their own interests, anyone facing death will not let go.

After Zhang Tie and the others left, the academy crowd gathered again, unlike before when the two factions were hostile to each other.

When facing outsiders, the two sides prepared to cooperate for the first time.

"Everyone, what do you think of the crisis they speak of?"

The Vice Principal spoke up directly, asking the second-in-command of the student faction.

"To be honest, I think something will happen, but it shouldn't be as terrifying as they say."

"Exactly, it's probably just to scare us; do they really think we're three-year-olds who've never seen the world?"

"Building a safe zone is actually fine, but it must be one of us in charge!"

"Exactly! Who knows if their sweet talk now, promising we keep our current treatment, will later change?"

"With so many of us, if we fight desperately, we'll definitely win!"

The Vice Principal wore a full smile; right now, having Principal Huang in the opponent's hands is actually a good thing.

He feigned concern and asked:

"Aren't you afraid they'll strike again? Even if we fight them to the death, many of us here would likely die."

The Awakened Ones present froze, recalling Zhang Tie's terrifying punch.

"What's there to fear? Have you forgotten Chairman Li and those from the Science Academy?"

"If it weren't for our strongest few going to Back Mountain, today these people wouldn't even get a chance to threaten us!"

"Exactly! Why not just forget about Back Mountain? Their territory's been taken over—hurry up and call Chairman Li and his crew back!"

"That's what we say..."

An Awakened, rare female student hesitated before speaking:

"But if we call them back, what do we do if the monster in Back Mountain breaks out of its seal?..."

Upon hearing about the Back Mountain monster, the Awakened Ones' faces involuntarily flashed a hint of fear.

"Even if the monster breaks out, it would still be stronger than now!"

"At worst, after dealing with these people, we'll join forces to drive the monster back! The folks from the Science Academy managed to seal it once; they can do it again!"

"But... that risk is really too great... last time we lost nearly a hundred people..."

"Damn it, the dead can't be blamed on us! It's all because those outsiders forced us!"

The Vice Principal scanned everyone's expressions, then suddenly spoke.

"Actually, you might have overlooked something."

He feigned mystery, then stopped after speaking to observe others' reactions, but most students didn't pay much attention to him.

"If you have something to say, say it; if you have a fart, let it out."

Among the trainees, someone glanced at him with contempt; unlike Huang Zheng and Huang Haitao, who still supported him, his position as vice principal now amounted to nothing.

Seeing this, the Vice Principal felt somewhat annoyed; this situation had become increasingly serious.

Students who once treated him with respect now treat him like a fart! If it weren't for the support of some students in the leadership, these middle-aged folks would probably have to scramble for food with the ordinary students.

Power! I want power too!

After all, his scheming was deeper than these students'; the Vice Principal kept a smile on his face, pretending not to have heard, and spoke slowly:

Do you still remember what those outsiders said about the spirit-energy nodes? You all know better than I do how a spirit-energy node can boost one's strength and how important it is!

If there really is a spirit-energy node in the academy that we don't know about, I actually think we can pretend to agree with their plan.

First we trick them into revealing where their spirit-energy node is, then we have Chairman Li and the others take action!

Kill them!

Who knows? Maybe this bunch of people actually brought us a tremendous opportunity.

Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts stirred; they exchanged glances and suddenly realized they had indeed overlooked this point.

Yeah, if we could really trick them into revealing their spirit-energy node, nothing would be more important!

But just as the words fell,

Sitting in the corner, a girl with an aged appearance suddenly changed expression, and taking the excuse of going to the restroom, she hurriedly ran out.

No one noticed; the academy's Awakened Ones eagerly discussed this line of thought.

They didn't bring a bunch of ordinary people, did they?

They can threaten us, so why can't we turn the tables on them?!

Exactly! We can totally send a few people over to seize them!

That Zhang Tie, I've observed him—he's high in durability and attack power, but his speed likely comes from a skill.

We can simply call Chairman Li back, and the rest of us flying kites could wear him down!

Exactly, that guy who looks like a soldier doesn't need to be worried about either. Actually, his movement is just a bit unusual; his strength isn't much greater than ours.

Tsk, I think we should pay attention to that girl who spoke last; she seems to be an Awakened One too, but maybe her strength is too weak for me to sense her aura.

But she probably has no real strength; otherwise she would have acted in the meeting.

Among the Awakened Ones, a young man wearing sportswear seemed lost in thought, his eyes burning with fervor.

She's so graceful and beautiful, and yet she's an Awakened One.

She's not that much stronger than the girls in our academy, is she?!

You say... after we kill these people, that girl...

Hahaha, just as I thought—I also want to have a taste. He looks so arrogant; I wonder what he's like in bed?

Not just that girl—I see there are also a few little girls among them, and they're not bad-looking either!

The crowd burst into laughter, everyone discussing the distribution of 'spoils' as if victory were already in their grasp.

Behind the academy, the hills were desolate and withered.

Faint howls rose and fell from the mountains.

Li Hua listened to the girl's report with a grim expression, and his eyes toward the rear mountains flashed with a hint of ferocity.